Lithium batteries stand apart from other batteries in their high charge density and long shelf life. Depending on the chemical makeup of the anode and cathode materials, lithium batteries may be primary (not rechargeable) or secondary (rechargeable) batteries. Lithium batteries are commonly used in portable consumer electronic applications, cardiac pacemakers, and various military and aerospace electronic applications.
In addition to the high cost per unit of lithium batteries, and depending on the specific type of battery, other limitations and/or drawbacks exist. For example, one limitation for a primary lithium battery using Li-CFx as the primary cathode active material (e.g., BR1225 or BR2325) is that the capacity of the active material is about 865 milliamp-hours per gram (mAh/g). Additionally, limitations associated with just using a phthalocyanine-based compound as the cathode active material are the low rate capability and high capacities (>1200 mAh/g) observed only at very low discharge rates.
Therefore, a need exists for new lithium batteries that overcome one or more of the problems of the prior art.